Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, Marine Medal, 3rd type, silver (To. Mr. A. E. Dyer. Third Officer, For Gallant Services at the Wreck of the S.S. “Lima” Feby. 1910) with integral top silver riband buckle, in Oldfields, Liverpool, embossed leather case of issue; together with a pair of presentation binocular glasses, by Chadburn’s Ltd, Liverpool, inscribed ‘Presented by the Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society to Mr. E. Dyer, 3rd. Officer of s/s “Lima” For exemplary & gallant Conduct in rescuing the Passengers of the said Vessel wrecked on the Island of Huamblin, Feby. 1910.’, in distressed carrying case, extremely fine £400-£500

Ernest Albert Dyer was born in Bristol on 21 October 1878, and having been apprenticed to the Bank Shipping Line, Liverpool, for 4 years, subsequently served as Third Officer in the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s S.S. Lima.

‘On 23 December 1909, the Lima left Liverpool for Lima, Peru, and on 5 February 1910, having rounded Cape Horn, she ran ashore on Huamblin Island, off the southern Chilean Pacific coast, in very rough weather. Her signals of distress were seen by the S.S. Hatumet, under the command of Captain J. Peters, which stood by and assisted in the rescue of 205 persons, of whom 188 were passengers, including all the women and children. The First Officer of the Lima, Mr. Isaac Nicholson, and the boatswain managed between them to get two boats under the stern of the vessel and to pass a line to those on board. By this means most of those rescued were hauled into the boats and taken to the Hatumet. During the night the rope became entangled with the rocks, capsizing Mr. Nicholson’s boat with the loss of its crew of six. The captain of the Hatumet, seeing that he could serve no useful purpose by standing by, made for Ancud with his 205 survivors, hoping to find a warship which might go to the scene of the wreck with a rocket apparatus. On the following day a Chilean cruiser took off the 88 persons still on board the Lima.’ (Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam 1824-1962 refers).

For their gallantry during the rescue, the Captain Percy Jacobs, of the S.S. Lima, was awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s silver Medal, together with an Illuminated Vote of Thanks; Third Officer Ernest Dyer and Fourth Engineer Henry Gray were each awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s silver Medal, together with an Illuminated Vote of Thanks, and a pair of binoculars; and Boatswain J. McClusky, and Able Seamen W. Martin, J. Cameron, and J. Lloyd were each awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s silver Medal, together with an Illuminated Vote of Thanks and a gratuity of £5. There were further awarded to the Captain and crew of the Hatumet, and also to the Captain and crew of the the Chilean cruiser the Minstro Zenteno.

Dyer subsequently transferred to the White Star Line on 29 July 1913, and served as a Senior Officer in a number of her vessels, including the Olympic, Adriatic, and Homeric. He also saw action as an officer in the Mercantile Marine during the Great War, and was awarded the British War Medal and Mercantile Marine War Medal. He retired on 3 November 1933.

Sold with a large quantity of copied research including a photographic image of the recipient.